The MMA Daily

Sharing the same card, both Bill Algeo and Herbert Burns saw their opponent bow out due to injuries. Fortunately, being that they are both Featherweights, the UFC was able to keep them on the card by pairing them up. Coming off a victory over Joanderson Brito, Algeo will look to buck a pattern of wins and losses that have kept him from a win streak since 2018-2019. Having fought several names thus far in the division, Algeo has certainly gained a lot of experience in only four fights inside the octagon. Meanwhile, Burns returns to the octagon for the first time since losing to Daniel Pineda in August of 2020. Having faced a litany of injuries that caused Burns to pull out of two fights, it should be interesting to see if the Brazilian can get back on track.

Despite not originally being paired up, this is an excellent fight. Algeo is a well rounded fighter, who’s strength’s lie more so in his grappling. Being a BJJ black belt and having a collegiate wrestling background, Algeo’s ground skills have seen him win six of his fifteen victories via submission. No slouch on the feet, Algeo is an active striker with some serious kickboxing skills. The only knock on Algeo comes within his defense. Sporting iffy takedown and striking defense, Algeo is susceptible to being hit often and taken down with little resistance. To his credit however, with slick grappling abilities and solid cardio, Algeo does a great job reversing position. Very likely to test Algeo’s grappling is Burns. Brother of Gilbert Burns, the Brazilian is a ground specialist. Known for his excellent grappling, Burns has shown a knack for taking the back with ease and submitting opponents. With eight of his eleven wins coming via submission, Burns is not someone you’d want to be tangled up with on the mat.

A very tricky fight to call, I’m going to go with Algeo. While Burns should get this fight to the ground, and may even threaten a submission, Algeo has the grappling abilities to escape danger. Having not been caught via a submission since 2014, which was early in his career, there is some assurance that he can drag this fight into deep waters. Given Algeo’s cardio and high output striking, I believe he can takeover as this fight wanes. Although Burns has only been stopped once, I’m going on a limb here and saying Algeo wins via TKO.